Our Team
Ellen Burton
Co-ordinator
Ellen studied Ecology and Conservation at university, then spent several years working in the science team at an educational publisher. She has always loved engaging with nature and citizen science in her spare time, and in September 2023, she joined the Riverfly Partnership team as a co-ordinator. Her role involves facilitating the participation of various organisations and volunteers, so that the health of Britain’s rivers can be effectively monitored.
Emma Kelly
Co-ordinator (maternity cover)
Emma has joined us for three days a week so that we can keep Riverfly running smoothly while Beth is on maternity leave. Emma has worked for the FBA since 2022, and has worked on many projects within that time, including the Big Windermere Survey, Priority Habitats, LD-CHARM, and more! For the other two days a week, she works as the FBA's Lakefly Project Officer, and in her spare time, she is studying for an Environmental Science degree.
Beth Korab
Co-ordinator (currently on maternity leave)
Beth is currently studying towards her Environmental Science degree, she has previously worked for an environmental conservation charity and spends as much of her time in the outdoors as possible. She joined the FBA in September 2023 as Riverfly Partnership co-ordinator.
Her role is to help coordinate the Riverfly Partnership where volunteer monitoring carries out the important work of understanding populations, conserving water quality, biodiversity and protecting unique habitats.
Steve Brooks
Co-chair of the Riverfly Partnership
Steve has long been an advocate of education, citizen science and the hands-on experience of the natural world as being vital to its successful conservation. He has written several books and field guides on dragonflies and other freshwater insects, teaches on university courses, gives popular lectures at the Natural History Museum, and provides talks and field trips for natural history societies. He is a founder member and currently chair of the Riverfly Partnership, is a founder member of the British Dragonfly Society and currently serves on its conservation committee. He is a Scientific Associate at the Natural History Museum, following his retirement in 2017.
Simon Johnson
Co-chair of the Riverfly Partnership
Simon is the Executive Director of the FBA. His other roles include director of the Norfolk Ponds Partnership, and board member of the European Federation of Freshwater Sciences. He has been involved in the Riverfly Partnership for many years, and monitors his own Riverfly site on Crowdundle Beck in Cumbria.